Nicki Minaj pulled a major surprise out of her bag of tricks and killed it as she opened the VMAs this year!

Sonya Eskridge is a writer from Maryland, who started her news career in radio at the age of 17. After graduating from Virginia Tech, she went on to write for a national publication where she was able to mold her personal voice. Always looking for ways to inform on important issues—or share her love of nerdy and girly things—Sonya thoroughly enjoys writing about a wide range of subjects.

This year, MTV lined up a nice mix of acts that offered a little something for everyone, and we’ve got it all here for you!

Let us just say now that Nicki Minaj was a tough act to follow as she kicked off the 2015 VMAs with a set that slayed the ceremony. Then she invited Taylor Swift on stage to perform with her, effectively squashing any beef they may have had (she still had plenty of venom for Miley Cyrus, though). You don’t open the show with your big guns, MTV! This a performance that producers should have known to save for the end of the show.

Scroll down to see which performances you may have just missed, or play back your faves from the night!